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Baseball Beginnings on Sonny Gray, No. 18, Athletics

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May 31, 2011

Today the Oakland A’s selected Sonny Gray in the 1st round (#18 overall) in the 2011 MLB Draft. Baseball Beginnings has been scouting Gray from the start of the draft cycle. Enjoy links to the content we have published on him through the year.

Read Sonny Gray Scouting Report
Watch Sonny Gray Video
Read Sonny Gray Scouting Update
Watch Sonny Gray Video
Watch Ace vs. Ace: Sonny Gray vs. Gerrit Cole Video

Scouting Report, Sonny Gray, RHP, Vanderbilt (2011 Draft)

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April 18, 2011

I had my look at Sonny Gray at UCLA in 2010 and then had one of my trusted bird dogs look him over for me in 2011. The general idea of Gray is that he’s a little guy with a big arm who profiles best as a closer. He is a max-effort guy and there’s going to be durability concerns for some teams. Some teams will like him as a closer. Some teams will take the chance for the big arm, even if his body walks away from his arm at times. The biggest shortcoming I see is that he lacks a dominant third pitch to be the kind of major league starter his fastball would allow him to be. On the plus side, Vanderbilt teammates speak very highly of his moxie and competitiveness. In a program with a lot of good arms, he’s the guy they want on the bump when it matters most. Again, to me, that translates as a closer. I am rather picky with my big league starters, I admit. ML starters need three 50 pitches at the least and most pitchers never get this far. We’ll see what happens with Gray, but if I were GM, we’d be taking him and converting him to a closer the moment we get the contract figured out.

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Scouting Video: Sonny Gray, RHP, Vanderbilt (2011 Draft)

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April 11, 2011

Sonny Gray is going to go good and I would imagine he would settle in as a rather normal ML pitcher down the line. Nothing wrong with that. Some people will probably think he’ll be a little bit more than an average big leaguer, but watch the video, and then I’ll tell you why he’s a solid, normal guy for me instead of a staff anchor.

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Scouting Update: Sonny Gray, RHP, Vanderbilt (2011 Draft)

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February 22, 2011

Sonny Gray pitched in San Diego this weekend. Here’s what the scouting report has to say.

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Scouting Video: Sonny Gray, RHP, Vanderbilt (2011 Draft)

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July 13, 2010

The radar gun will always love the right-handed Sonny Gray, and by that virtue alone, he will be drafted good in 2011 and be placed on the fast track to the big leagues. Take a look and then we will break him down.

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2011 Draft Sneak Peak: Gentleman, Start Your Horses

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June 15, 2010

No sooner does one draft cycle end than the next one begins. The next draft cycle always starts with a group of players pretty much everyone knows, but from now until next June, the draft cycle is nothing but a horserace. What follows are some of the prospects that I have already seen and will see more of in 2011.

This is not meant to be a complete list or a ranking, and if this story is the first time you are discovering Baseball Beginnings, we invite you to stick around throughout the year to see video and read about the players we are talking about. If you stay with us, by the time draft day rolls around, I promise you many players that are not even in this story will come alive for you through video, scouting reports, scouting updates and interviews.

If you’re a 2011 prospect and you’re not in this story, it doesn’t mean you are not a prospect. It just means I haven’t seen you yet. If you can play, chances are I will find you.

Here, then, is a sneak peak at what is inside the 2011 stable, both high school and college, on a national scale.

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Ace vs. Ace: Sonny Gray vs. Gerrit Cole

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February 26, 2010

Gerrit Cole threw three bad pitches in the first inning and two very good ones. He hit three Vanderbilt batters in the opening minutes, each with fastballs, and you have to give Cole credit for one thing. Not many pitchers can say they drilled the bases loaded. And not many pitchers can get out of a jam the way he did Friday night against Sonny Gray and Vanderbilt.

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